


You're cordially invited

by beyondmyreach



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Established Relationship, Female Loki (Marvel), Gen, Humorous Stalking, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, MTH19, Male Loki (Marvel), Marvel Trumps Hate 2019, Tony Stark is beloved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyondmyreach/pseuds/beyondmyreach
Summary: In which Tony and Loki become friends, and Steve worries.“... Tell me you at least don’t have a floor in the Tower with Loki’s name on it?” Steve says.Tony grins. "I do not have a floor in the Tower with Loki’s name on it. I don’t think we’re at the moving in together stage yet,” he says with a teasing wink, well-aware of how misleading that sounds.Steve sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.
Relationships: Loki & Steve Rogers, Loki & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 13
Kudos: 73
Collections: Marvel Trumps Hate 2019





	You're cordially invited

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WilmaKins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WilmaKins/gifts).



> Written for [Wilma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WilmaKins/pseuds/WilmaKins) for [MTH19](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/MTH2019). 
> 
> Prompts:  
> 1\. Steve just doesn’t get Tony sometimes – so he asks JARVIS for advice  
> 2\. Tony and Loki talk about their relationships with their fathers.  
> 3\. Steve and Tony plan a party.  
> 4\. Tony tries to cheer himself up.
> 
> I tried incorporate a bit of each of the prompts, but I feel like I ended up just barely missing all of them instead, lol. Nevertheless, I had a great time writing this fic, I feel like there isn't enough friendship fics for Loki & Tony, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it too!
> 
> Many thanks to [Sou-chan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iheartsenpai) for looking over the fic!

A hint of baked sugar wafts over to Steve when he stops by Tony’s floor after an afternoon ride through New York City. Steve invited Tony to come along with him earlier that morning, but Tony mumbled something about having plans later and then promptly buried his face back into his pillow after telling Steve to have fun. So baking was the plan.

“What’s Tony making this time?” Steve asks, head tilted towards the ceiling to indicate his question towards JARVIS. “Or better yet,” he amends as he steps closer to the kitchen and the undertone of baked goods becomes overpowering. It was like walking into an industrial bakery working vigorously to reach the deadline of the biggest order of its lifetime. “How much baked goods has he made already?” 

“... I think it best for you to see for yourself, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS replies, and Steve laughs at the pause in JARVIS’ words that speaks volumes in itself as he rounds into the kitchen. 

“Okay, okay,” Steve hears Tony say, as dozens of rows of cupcakes and three baffling trays of muffins covering every available surface come into his view. Tony is standing at the center, holding a cupcake with a bite taken out of it. “So more butter definitely helped keep the moisture, but now it also tastes a little more tough, which I said was going to happen, so _ha_. Wouldn’t make a difference that the KitchenAid didn’t stop immediately after I flipped the switch, you said.”

Tony looks so happy, so confident the way he gets when he’s in the middle of an experiment, that Steve just wants to walk over and sweep him off his feet. 

“Stark,” someone says, long-suffering but also with an underlying hint of amusement. Steve instinctively ducks behind a wall, out of sight from the kitchen. He recognizes that voice. “It was an extra one second at most,” Loki says. “There’s no way you can taste it.” 

A holographic screen appears in front of Steve, displaying a video feed of the kitchen. “JARVIS?” Steve whispers, trying to figure out what’s going on and why Loki is in Tony’s kitchen, but JARVIS doesn’t reply. Steve looks at the screen.

“So can,” Tony insists, argumentative and apparently not least worried about the once-wanted criminal in his kitchen. “You try it then.” He chucks the cupcake he was holding overhand across the room to Loki. 

The cupcake vanishes just before it hits him. 

Loki used that trick against Steve once and had his thrown shield come out from behind Steve. Loki raises his hand now, a cupcake nestled in his palm, and eats a piece from it. 

“Amazing,” Loki says dryly, “there’s no difference at all.” He raises his hand with the cupcake, and Tony warns, “Don’t you dare -”

Tony yelps and Steve makes an aborted movement to go to him, but then Tony says, “Haha, very funny.” 

On the screen, Tony raises his hand, revealing the cupcake. He grins and bites half of it in one go. “All in a good day of work, perfecting a recipe. Now if only the stupid KitchenAid didn’t _ruin_ it.”

“You just want to build your own stand mixer and connect it to your AI, Stark,” Loki says, just as his gaze drops. Steve pulls his foot back, half in plain sight from his abortive move towards Tony prior, and Loki smiles. It’s disconcerting to see a smile grow increasingly insincere even as it widens. “Your knight on a bike is back,” Loki says, canting his head towards Steve. 

Steve flushes, both at how Loki said Tony’s chosen nickname of the day for Steve without any hint of irony and because he caught Steve hiding behind the wall like a schoolkid. Tony whirls around just as Steve steps out, and then Steve forgets everything else temporarily as Tony lights up and leaps at him, wrapping his arms and legs around Steve like a monkey.

“Hello, Sir Knight-on-the-Bike,” Tony greets, his lips pressed against his ear.

“Petition for another nickname?” Steve requests without much hope, hoisting Tony up so he’s more comfortably in his arms. He tries to look past Tony to Loki, but Tony wiggles in his arms and Steve gets distracted.

“Petition denied!” Tony announces with a gleeful flourish, raising an arm as though in rally. It almost whacks Steve in the face. “Nicknames for Sir Knight-on-the-Bike is a monarchy!” he asserts, leaning close until all Steve can see is Tony’s face and his beautiful eyes.

“Well,” Steve says, making a show of sighing as he gazes up at Tony, who’s eyes sparkled with amusement, “petition for a kiss at least?”

“That, sir,” Tony says, leaning down as Steve meets him halfway, “you have a monopoly on.”

Steve jolts as they part, recalling Loki in the kitchen.

Tony notices. “Bet he’s gone already,” he says, waving a hand in the air. He pats Steve’s arm and Steve lets him go, planting him back on the ground. “Our friend Loki isn’t much of a people person,” he says, turning around to face the kitchen and confirming his suspicion. “Or hmm, I don’t know if he would call us friends. Fellow scientists-slash-baker?” He looks at Steve for help.

Steve covers his face with his hand and sighs. He says, knowing Tony knows and must have considered this already, “Tony, I really hope you know what you’re doing, interacting with Loki and inviting him _into the Tower_. He’s dangerous. He is only released because he’s Asgard’s prince!”

“Right,” Tony says, unconvinced, “because two super spies, one awesome scientist who can go _boom_ if he’s surprised, an alien god-slash-prince, and a Super Soldier isn’t dangerous at all?”

Well, when he puts it like that...

“... Tell me you at least don’t have a floor in the Tower with Loki’s name on it?” Steve says. 

Tony grins and says, mock chastising and lecturing, “Captain Rogers, relationships are based on ‘mutual trust and communication’. Lies are a big no-no!” He giggles at the despair on Steve’s face. “I’m just kidding, I do not have a floor in the Tower for Loki. I don’t think we’re at the moving in together stage yet,” he says with a teasing wink, well-aware of how misleading that sounds.

Steve sighs at Tony’s mischievousness and boops him on the nose. “Just be careful, alright, Tony?”

“Of course,” Tony says softly, glibness sliding away. He leans up and kisses Steve on the cheek, his goatee scrapping gently against his skin. “Anything for you,” he says. Then, Tony grins. “Now how do you feel about some cupcakes? Preferably by the dozen.”

Xxx

“JARVIS, what do you think of Loki?” Steve asks the next time Tony hangs out with Loki. Tony invited Steve to tag along before he left, probably because he thought Steve would feel better if he was there to supervise and see for himself that Loki has no ill-will towards him. Steve passed, however, not wanting Tony to feel obligated to let Steve intrude into his friendship for Steve’s peace of mind. Despite that, worry nags at him. “We both know Loki looks bad on paper, but even so, Tony seems to trust him. Do you trust Tony with Loki?”

“It’s not up to me to question my creator,” JARVIS demures into his comm, and Steve laughs in spite of his worry, recalling the many times JARVIS let Tony know exactly what he thinks of Tony’s insane and often self-destructive plans during the middle of a fight. “I do not have enough data, I have only seen them interact a limited number of times. Based on Mr. Loki’s background check and his unpredictability, I have categorized him as a Level 7 out of 10 threat to Sir, even taking in account his apparent lack of interest to harm Sir from recent interactions.”

“Right, a Level 7 out of 10 threat,” Steve says under his breath. “Which is why we’re here now.” 

Steve parks his motorbike at the first empty spot he sees and then heads into the racing stadium that he tailed Tony to, pushing his sunglasses higher on the bridge of his nose and tugging his cap lower over his face in hopes that no one would recognize him. 

_Sunglasses and cap,_ Tony would have said with a chuckle, _a classic disguise._

A group of racers is just stepping off when Steve arrives at the track. “We’re just going to watch from afar and make sure Tony’s safe,” Steve says, as much for JARVIS as it is for himself. “Do you see them, JARVIS?”

“Sir is at the starting line with Mr. Loki,” JARVIS says. “It seems like they intend to race each other. If you head a hundred paces to your right, you’ll be able to see them better.”

Steve moves and sits down in an empty seat near the spot JARVIS directed him. Two seats away, a woman looks down at the track and then does a double take. “Wait, is that _Tony Stark_?” 

Her words spread and transmit a few feet radius around her and then in no time, like a rapid game of telephone, Tony’s name echoes across the entire stadium like a tidal wave. It feels like the entire stadium rises at once as the crowd rushes forward to peer down at the race track, everyone elbowing each other out of the way in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Tony to confirm his presence for themselves. 

Overhead, the announcer speaks. “Hello, hello, dear racing fanatics and audience. As you all have noticed, for the next race, we have a very special guest. Give it up for Tony Stark, who’ll be racing in his Iron Man suit, against his guest called Loki, who Mr. Stark assured us will _not_ be racing in a race car and who’s means will very much be a surprise!”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “He’s racing with the suit?” he says, and JARVIS replies with dry amusement, “For science, Sir insists.”

Even before the announcer has finished speaking, loud cheers erupts amidst the crowd. Below on the track, Tony grins and waves, taking a bow and pressing kisses to his fingers before sending them out, accepting his fans’ adoration as his due and sending back his own in kind. It creates a vicious cycle that spurs both sides on, encouraging them to escalate. It is Tony at his most purposeful obnoxious self and they both know it too. 

Loki rolls his eyes and shakes his head at Tony, ignoring the pointed _look at how popular I am_ look that Tony shoots his way, even as a laugh reluctantly tugs at his mouth. 

Loki looks young, all of a sudden, dressed in modern clothes that Steve is sure Tony is going to swear up and down is in fashion nowadays. His long hair is tied in a ponytail, a wisp curling just above his eyebrow, and his eyes are soft. The vitriol and hurt that Steve recall reflecting so vividly from them are no longer there. 

The relief on Loki’s behalf and the pride on Tony’s that hit him surprises Steve, but only for a brief moment. Steve still doesn’t know what Loki’s purpose in approaching Tony is, if there is indeed one, and he definitely won’t let Loki get away with it if Loki intends to harm Tony or New York City, but nevertheless, he’s glad to see that Loki seems to be doing better. 

Steve still remembers his aimlessness after the battle in Manhattan and the intense relief and gratitude he felt when Tony extended an offer for him to live in the Tower. More than just a place to live, Tony has given him a place to call his own, companionship in the form of the gathered Avengers, and later on, to Steve’s incredible fortune, Tony himself for Steve to share his life with. 

Perhaps Steve is giving Tony too little credit. He does seem to be doing well with Project Befriending Loki and Wringing Out The Secrets To His Magic, as he has told Steve after the time he saw Loki in the kitchen. Tony has been most upset that he couldn’t shorten the project name to a nice acronym. 

“Alright, alright, thirty seconds to the start of the race,” the announcer says. “Three laps around the track, the first one back wins. We have a nice camera here to judge if it ends up being a close call. Now on your mark.” 

Tony taps the button on his chest for the Iron Man suit, and Loki rolls his neck in a stretch. 

“Get set.” 

The Iron Man suit materializes around Tony like a second skin. Next to him, green light sparks to life around Loki in crackles of lightning, and at the sight, the crowd _ooh_ s and _ahh_ s. 

Steve feels a grin tug at his face, even as his anticipation rises like everyone else. Loki really is similar to Tony, he just hides his need to impress a little better. “Good luck, JARVIS.”

“Thank you, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS says. Steve thinks he caught a hint of excitement in his voice.

The Iron Man helmet clicks around Tony’s head, and then finally, “Go!”

Tony shoots down the race track, leaving only a streak of red in his wake. One second he is at the starting line and the next he is ten meters ahead and gaining. Meanwhile, Loki vanishes the moment the race starts, disappearing without a trace only to reappear a few meters ahead. It’s like watching a glitch in real life as Loki teleports down the race track in a burst of green, ramping the tension when he supposedly falls behind only to reappear near Tony a blink later. It keeps the audience on the edge of their seat, and Steve doesn’t even notice they finish the first lap until the announcer broadcasts it.

“Reminder that this is _not_ best of three, but so far” - an image of the track appears on the big screen, red and green zipping across the line in tandem, but the red just a touch ahead - “Iron Man is in the lead!” 

Cheers and shouts of Tony’s name rise, drowning everything else out. Tony performs a midair twirl in celebration, eye catching and gorgeous, and in that split-second, Loki teleports ahead of Tony and pulls ahead.

“Hey!” Steve can almost imagine Tony protesting, peals of laughter following him as he zooms after Loki. 

The race is on again. 

They are just finishing the second lap, Loki in the lead, when several stories of a skyscraper plummet from the sky. 

Steve’s heart stops, the world slows as a piece of broken building bigger than the Hulk falls towards the track, Tony heading right into it after throwing in an extra burst of speed to catch up to Loki right before the finish line. He won’t be able to get out of the blast zone in time.

“Tony!” 

The piece of building crash landed, cratering the earth below instantly. Debris and dust exploded outward. Steve can’t hear anything, can’t breathe. He’s running for the race track as everyone around him screams silently in slow motion and tries to evacuate. His eyes are glued to the spot where he has last seen Tony, a flash of bright red beneath the blast. 

“- tain Rogers, Captain Rogers!” 

Steve heaves a breath, like he’s surfacing for the first time, except he’s still drowning. Someone is speaking into his ear. 

“JARVIS?” Steve says, terrible hope and fear unfurling in his chest. He finally pulls his gaze away from the race track. Steve has a trash can lid roughly the size of his shield in one hand and is pulling up a kid who has fallen on the ground among the pandemonium just before he gets trampled. 

“Thank you for saving my son!” A man appears, pulling the kid into his arm. “Are you okay?” he asks the kid, checking over him desperately. “I’m so sorry I let go for a second.”

Steve looks back at the race track. The dust still hasn’t settled. “You need to evacuate,” Steve says to the father and son, just as JARVIS says in his ear, “Sir is fine. Loki teleported him out of the way last second.”

Steve let out a breath, nearly choking with relief. Steve doesn’t know what kind of expression he has on his face, but the father and son pair are staring at him with concern. 

“Are you okay?” the father asks, and Steve nods. 

“Yes,” he breaths out. He looks at them. “Don’t let go of each other again,” he says, and then runs towards the opposite direction of the race track. 

There are other people that need help. 

“JARVIS, what’s the situation? Did you call for backup?” Steve asks, finally regaining some semblance of control.

“A corporate skyscraper on 8th Avenue belonging to Hammer Industries exploded. It seems like something they were testing went wrong, causing parts of their building to collapse,” JARVIS says, his steady and familiar cadence calming the drumming of Steve’s heart. “Mr. Odison is in Asgard, Agent Romanoff likewise on a mission. I alerted Agent Barton and Dr. Banner, they’re on the way with your shield.” 

“Good,” Steve says, pushing aside rubble as he searches to make sure no one is trapped beneath. “JARVIS,” he says slowly, after he protected a man from a falling debris with his makeshift shield and sent him towards the stadium’s exit. “Tony is really alright, right?”

As much as Steve wants to run to Tony and see for himself, he has a responsibility to the people right now. They aren’t fighting an enemy, this is a search and rescue mission. Meeting up with Tony won’t help, they need to spread out and making sure no one else gets hurt. 

“Calling,” JARVIS says, and Steve jolts. 

“Wait, JARVIS,” Steve says, alarmed and scrambling to collect himself, right before it connects.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Tony’s voice comes into Steve’s comm, and Steve has never heard anything sweeter that moment. “JARVIS was telling me you guys were doing some stalk-bonding today?” 

Steve flushes at being found out, even though he just primarily feels relief. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve says. “I didn’t plan to interfere, I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.” The image of the piece of building crashing into Tony is still vividly fresh in his mind. 

Tony laughs. “Yeah, I know, though I did invite you to stalk us openly. You can’t say I didn’t.”

“I know,” Steve says quietly. “ Can you please help me tell Loki thank you for saving you? I -” Steve swallows. “That was really close.”

“I’m fine, good as new, nothing the suit can’t handle!” Tony says. “But yes, I’ll let him know, though I can never live it down now. I’m heading to the site of the explosion and Loki is redirecting the falling debris, though he’s grumbling this is not his job. I’ll catch up with you later, alright, honeybun?”

“Yes, of course,” Steve says, jogging ahead when he sees a woman who’s wheelchair is caught in a fissure in the ground. “I love you.”

Steve can almost feel the smile against his ear. “Love you too.”

Xxx 

“I haven’t seen Tony smile like that on his birthday in years,” Pepper says, settling next to Steve against the bar. Her hair is pulled up, a few strands curling around her face, and she is wearing a lovely navy blue dress. She hands Steve a glass of champagne with a smile. “You did that. Thank you for organizing this for him.”

Steve glances over the ballroom of the Tower, tastefully redecorated with Pepper’s help to transform it from a room left to gather in dust into a ballroom that is elegant, beautiful and still somehow intimate and comfortable. There are around forty people in here, chosen with the help of JARVIS and his database of anyone Tony offhandedly mentioned wanting to reconnect with or was wondering how they’re doing. Steve then invited and sponsored them to come to New York City to celebrate Tony’s birthday.

“I’m just glad he liked it,” Steve says. He recalls the way Tony’s mouth dropped in surprise when Steve revealed the ballroom, the decoration, and all the people that gathered just for him, and how his eyes gleamed bright, surprised and touched. 

Like a compass homing north, Steve’s gaze soon lands on Tony among the crowd. Tony is talking animatedly with Harley, a kid Tony had encountered in Tennessee two years prior who assisted him during the Extremis incident. Harley’s family stands near him, half in awe to be in Tony’s presence which is equivalent to that of a celebrity and half smiling as Harley and Tony chatter with infectious glee and loop them in to join.

“I couldn’t have done it at all without yours and JARVIS’ help,'' Steve says finally, turning back to Pepper. He raises his glass, indicating towards her and the ceiling at JARVIS. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Pepper says with a smile, clinking their glasses of champagne together. Steve smiles at the third clink he hears, mechanical and clear, which could almost be excused as part of the music currently playing. They drink and talk, and at some point, Pepper glances down at her phone and then up at the ballroom entrance and stares. Steve follows her gaze and spots Natasha walking in, beautiful and elegant in her black dress, looking just the slightest harried from hurrying back from a mission. Pepper and Natasha’s gaze meets across the ballroom, almost as though in a fairytale, and it is unmistakable, the way their expressions simultaneously brighten at the sight of the other. 

Steve excuses himself and makes himself scarce. 

He walks around, taking the opportunity to talk to other people beyond when he initially invited them to the party, and just when he thinks about rejoining Tony, a woman in a sleek emerald and black dress stops in front of him. 

“Captain Rogers, care to have a drink with me?” she says, and Steve stares. He and JARVIS have screened forty people for the party and he has personally invited each and every one of them, save for one. He doesn’t recognize her. 

“JARVIS?” Steve says, knowing JARVIS would hear him even over the party’s music and chatter, and the woman smiles, wide and insincere. Steve’s phone buzzes with a text message and even without checking it, Steve suddenly knows what it says. A wisp of her hair curls just above her eyebrow. “Loki.”

“A prize for the Captain,” she says dryly and walks away, her hair swaying against her back. She has two glasses of champagne in hand by the time they make it to a corner of the ballroom. Steve gets a sense of deja vu as she leans against the wall and extends one of the two glasses towards him. 

“Thank you, but I had enough for today,” Steve says, which is the truth. He doesn’t think Loki would try to put something in his drink, of all things, but he isn’t a fan of drinking too much, even if he’s not affected by it. 

When Loki continues to hold out the drink, Steve finally takes it, though he doesn’t drink, instead opting to watch Loki sips her champagne while gazing out at the ballroom. She seems thoughtful.

“Should you be watching another woman so intently while your beloved is a mere half ballroom away?” Loki says without glancing back at him, though her tone is noncommittal. 

“I didn’t expect you to show up,” Steve says honestly, letting her implications slide off of him because they simply aren’t true and Loki knows it too, “especially not as a woman, though in retrospect” - he gazes at the multitude of invited SHIELD agents throughout the room, who, although Loki is no longer a criminal, would not be amused by her presence - “perhaps that’s a wise move on your part.”

Loki finally turns to look at him, lips quirked less insincere and more amused, and says, “Why did you invite me, Captain? So many changed neon ‘You’re cordially invited…’ signs without even knowing if I saw it.”

“Steve,” he corrects. “You didn’t have a cell phone and JARVIS didn’t have a way of contacting you directly, so we slipped invitations to your last known locations instead.” Loki looks at him, still waiting, and finally Steve says, “Because Tony considers you his friend. He’d be happy to know you’re here.”

That seems to give Loki a pause, though not for long. “Is that so?” she says, tilting her head to the side. “And you approve, Captain?”

“It’s not up to me to approve,” Steve says, even though he knows what’s coming next. 

“And yet I recall a certain race,” Loki says, not a hint of laughter in her voice and yet there it is dancing in her eyes, and Steve feels his face warm. He’s really never going to live that down. 

“I just wanted to make sure he’s safe,” Steve groans, covering his face, even as he feels a chagrin grin spread across his face. He has been teased about this one time too many by the Avengers already to truly feel embarrassed and upset by that. He glances back up after a moment, still smiling. “Thank you for saving him. I asked Tony to pass it to you, but I never told you myself.”

Loki looks at him for a long heartbeat. Finally, she says, “If I’d known it was this easy to win the Avengers over, I would have orchestrated a rescue much earlier.” She straightens from where she leans against the wall and drains the last of her champagne. “Go back to Tony’s side, Captain. More than anyone else, he’ll want you there.”

“I will,” Steve says, glancing across the room and catching Tony’s eyes. His eyebrows rise when he sees Loki by Steve’s side, bemusement followed by utter delight. Tony crosses the room, heading towards them like a child who caught sight of the cutest puppy he has ever seen, and Loki suddenly looks awkward like she wants to run. “Can I just ask you one question?”

Loki glances across the room, where Tony is accosted by one of his many guests trying to wish him a happy birthday. Tony smiles dazzlingly and, as much as he looks like he’s enjoying the talk, looks like he’s trying to extricate himself as soon as possible. He looks over and mouths ‘don’t move’ in their direction, before going back to his conversation with his professor he hasn’t seen since MIT days. “Make it quick,” Loki says. 

“Why Tony?” Steve says, and Loki gives him such a disappointed and withering look that Steves couldn’t help but laugh. “I know there’s nothing between you two,” he says before Loki could give him a verbal tongue lashing. “I’m talking about your friendship. I asked Tony about it, but he kept joking about it and wouldn’t give me a straight answer.”

“Oh,” Loki says, and falls silent. Tony finally manages to excuse himself from his former professor. “You grew up a pauper, Captain.”

Steve nods, not understanding how that is relevant. 

Loki says, “We have what people of Earth call a first-world problem, I suppose. A prince of a planet and a son of a billionaire. We have everything,” she says.

Steve recalls Yinsen, the man who changed Tony’s life, saved it at the cost of his own, and reshaped Tony into the man he is today. 

“And nothing,” Steve silently finishes with her, meeting her eyes, and her lips quirk. 

“And nothing,” she confirms, says again, “with a shitty father and no one who understands. It’s not much, but just enough for a lifetime of scarring and the start of a beautiful friendship.”

It sounds significantly less sarcastic than Loki probably intends, and she realizes it too. She glances back at the ballroom and Tony is nearly where they are.

“Time’s up, Captain,” Loki says, tossing her hair back. “I’ll see you around.” She pauses for a second, before saying, “You should give Tony your untouched drink. I’d hate for it to go to waste.”

Loki walks away and towards Tony, and Steve watches her go. They meet in the middle and exchange a few words, and it takes Loki giving Tony a warning look before Tony finally throws his hands in the air and continues to Steve.

“Shit, I thought she left already,” Tony laughs, throwing his arms around Steve. “Hello honeybun, how are you doing? Please tell me all the juicy tea _please_. I did not expect you to invite Loki or for Loki to willingly come talk to you, and she wouldn’t tell me anything even though it’s my birthday!”

Steve laughs. “Maybe later, I’ll think about it,” he says, and kisses Tony before he can whine at him. “Are you having fun?”

Tony looks up at him and grins. “Yes, I love it, thank you,” Tony says, cradling Steve’s face with both hands. He swoops up and pecks Steve on the lips. “Does this mean you and JARVIS approve of Project Befriending Loki and Wringing Out The Secrets To His Magic now?” He makes a face at the mouthful of the project name. “Remind me to really change that name,” he mutters, before continuing with a twinkle in his eyes, “Or was inviting Loki here another supervised play-date?”

Steve sighs, not surprised by yet another reference to him following them to the race. “You’ll be sick of mentioning it one day,” Steve says, more of a wistful thinking to himself than any actual hope. “Right about now sounds great.”

“But Captain Steve Rogers stalked me for my safety!” Tony says with a laugh, even as Steve groans and buries his face against Tony’s neck. “How many other people can say the same, hmm?”

“To answer your initial question,” Steve says, straightening and moving the conversation along, and right on cue, both Steve’s and Tony’s phone vibrated with a text message. 

Tony fishes out his phone. “I’m going to give us all comms to wear the next time we have an event in the Tower,” Tony says. “I’m not used to big brother JARVIS via text messages; overheard announcements or whispers straight into your ears is where it’s at. Jot that down, JARVIS.”

Tony hits the first speed dial on his phone and puts it on speaker. It connects and JARVIS’ voice filters out, “Jotted down, Sir. Yet another item onto a long list of unfulfilled projects.”

“Shhhh,” Tony says, hushing him. “Now tell me what’s yours and Steve’s verdict on Project Befriend Loki. Pretty alright, I’m assuming, given I just saw her walk freely in and out of here.”

“Sir, as Captain Rogers has repeatedly affirmed and I concur, you can befriend whoever you want.” Tony gives a nearby security camera a skeptical look and before he can remind them of The Race Incident again, JARVIS continues, “Based on Mr. Loki saving your life at the race, we have reduced his threat level to Level 4.”

“Meaning he’s still dangerous, yada yada ya, but since everyone else around me is dangerous too, including my boyfriend here, Loki has a free pass?” Tony prompts, looking at Steve and then up at the security camera again, and JARVIS says, “Indeed.”

“Good to know, cause we have a play-date coming up and we didn’t know if we needed to reserve extra seats,” Tony says, winking. Finally, he says, “Thank you, JARVIS. You can go back to your big brother duties now.”

“My pleasure,” JARVIS says, and just before he hangs up, “Happy birthday, Sir.”

Tony tucks away his phone and leans against Steve. “They grow up so fast nowadays,” he says with the shake of his head and a slight smile. 

Steve hums in agreement and then, recalling Loki’s suggestion to let Tony try his drink, takes a sip of his untouched glass of champagne curiously. He smiles when its content touches his tongue, and then, noticing Tony’s fixed gaze on it, passes it to him. Tony takes the glass with a fond thankful smile and Steve watches curiously as Tony takes a sip. 

The moment the content touches his tongue, Tony yanks it away as though burned, spluttering speechlessly. He stares at the glass in abject horror. 

“This sparkling _apple juice_ ,” Tony finally manages with utter betrayal. “Why - I know we label the alcohol and juice for kids very clearly and this isn’t - Steve!”

Steve shakes against Tony with laughter. He struggles to get enough breath to talk, but it isn’t enough a solid minute later that he manages to say, “Loki gave me that.”

Tony is now directing his betrayed look at Steve. “Unbelievable, Steve, how could you two? My _alcohol_ of all things?”

“I’m sure you had enough for tonight,” Steve says, pressing a palm to Tony’s alcohol-warmed cheek. “JARVIS?”

“Don’t -” Tony directs to JARVIS, just as Steve’s and Tony’s phones vibrated. “Traitor,” Tony mutters, as Steve fishes out his phone and raises an eyebrow at the number JARVIS texted him. “ _All_ of you are traitors. It’s my birthday! You’re all a Level 5 hazard to my health now,” he declares.

“Yes, yes, birthday boy,” Steve says, fond, taking the glass of sparkling apple juice from Tony’s hand before he tosses it. He absentmindedly wonders if Loki was also drinking juice before, since the glasses didn’t look any different, and smiles at the thought. “C’mon, I didn’t get to dance with you yet.” Steve takes a step back until it is the proper distance and then bows low, extending his hand out. “May I have this dance?” he says, just as the music segues to one perfect for slow dancing. 

“I’m not forgetting this!” Tony warns, even as his hand, calloused and warm, settles into Steve’s. When Steve stands up, Tony slides forward and slots his body against his. 

“But yes,” Tony whispers against him, eyes soft, “A thousand times yes,” and Steve smiles. 

“Good,” he says, closing his hand around Tony’s, “because I’m never letting go.”

“Good,” Tony says, and Steve replies, “Good.”

Both of them stare at each other for a long moment. Steve doesn’t know who broke first, but it doesn’t matter. Eventually, like the inevitable, they crash onto the dance floor, hand in hand with each other’s laughter in their ears.

**Author's Note:**

> chat with me on [tumblr](https://beyond-myreach.tumblr.com/)!


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